7/17/2010

If you go to the Haute Doll site and try to order a subscription or renew an existing one you will get the message "no products found."
Yesterday the unconfirmed statement that they were shutting down erupted on one of the doll boards and spread like wild fire. Later in the day, HD sent the message that they would be issuing a statement. They did not say when.
I'm rather surprised as I thought the last issue of Haute Doll was one of their best!
I know something went wrong recently with their ordering system during a big event and shortly after that they went on leave for a while.
In spite of the fact that I write for FDQ, I enjoyed most of what HD had to offer. The main focus of each publication is different.

Perhaps they were overextended with the amount of exclusives they took on. We may never know the underlying problem. Right now, we're just waiting for some explanation.

Some of their recent exclusives have been Sybarite: The Cross; Dolci Bambola Giftset and Peak's Woods Goldie.

While I'm sure The Cross (LE 150) sold out even with it's $820. price tag, I don't know about the LE60 Bambola for $510. That's quite a specialized type of doll and I know of just one person who purchased one. The Peak's Wood doll (LE 40 @ $760-$810) is the latest and part of an entire collection of exclusives which included many fashions. When the ordering for those items opened up, that was when their system went haywire.

Previously they offered an exclusive Traveler Innoquii. This doll had to be practically given away she was so disliked. Ditto for the Valia Pivoine whose initial price point was ridiculous, was put on sale and then the W Club wound up having a 2 for 1 lottery on their leftover Valias.

I always thought those two dolls resembled eachother. In a prior blog post, I parodied a Haute Doll cover which featured Innoqui with my version of Valia whom I named Innoquous.

7/16/2010

I'm still adding Vero dolls to my collection. This "Close-Up" Veronique called Morning Frost was released in 2003. She was an edition of 1000 and originally sold for $29.99.

Recently I was lucky enough to pick up the head for $35. Fully dressed, a mint condition doll like this will go from $99-$125. After washing and restoring her hair to it's original beauty, I put the head on a tall FR body.

The replacement body I used was from one of my older dolls and was extremely wobbly at the waist and hips. While that can't actually be repaired, it can be controlled to a certain degree. I put pantyhose on the doll. That helps a great deal. A slim skirt is essential as it holds the legs together.

7/15/2010

Alice Cullen is my favorite character from the Twilight series of books and in the movies. She is also the latest addition from the Tonner Doll Company to their Twilight line of dolls.
I think she is adorable with her "Ashley Greene Head Sculpt", 16" Ballerina bust Tyler convertible body, amber eyes, wigged hair and cameo skintone. She is wearing a reproduction of an outfit she wore in New Moon. The retail price of Tonner's Alice is $139.99 and she is expected to ship in September, 2010.

Here is NECA's prototype of Alice. It was shown at the New York Toy Fair in 2009. I could not find this one for sale.

Here's another from NECA being sold at Amazon .com. I cannot locate a better photograph of this doll. She is obviously wearing the same costume as Tonner's doll. This one is only 7" tall and is called Twilight "New Moon" Alice Cullen. Price at Amazon is $39.95.

Finally we have the Barbie Collector Twilight Saga "Eclipse" 11" Alice doll for $24.99. This doll will ship in August, 2010. This one has the cutest face and changing the shirt to white was a good idea. It would be an even better idea to make all the dolls with a pivotal body. A vampire has to move, doesn't she?

Recently released by Mattel in honor of Barbie's 50th birthday is this 12" Giant Pez Dispenser with a reproduction vintage Barbie head. Included in the box are 6 packages of Pez. This thing dispenses whole packages of Pez. There should be giant Pez, not just giant dispensers.

7/11/2010

Has the Alice in Wonderland theme been overdone? Yes, it's been going on forever. It's the definition of a classic. The story is an ageless one that has enchanted children and adults alike since it was written in 1865. The story embodies the battles of good vs. evil, apathy vs. involvement, greed vs. generosity and on and on. Who doesn't identify some opposing characteristics in their own personality?

When I saw the numerous Wonderland dolls at IDEX in January, I was impressed by how many different companies and individual doll artists chose to do Alice themed dolls this year. It was not that surprising due to the Alice in Wonderland movie but seemed rather odd that there were so many.

Has one company 'done it right' above all others? No. With the variety of Wonderland themed dolls out there, it's foolish to compare.

I understand that some collectors have an irrational loyalty (also known as ass-kissing) to some manufacturers and so their praise for that company is endless. These people need to become educated about what's out there.

I have already posted the new Integrity Alice.

Tonner has produced several Wonderland character dolls and stunning fashions.

This is Mattel's latest Alice:

Some others that may be available at different sources on the internet:

Madame Alexander Cloth Alice

Madame Alexander Alice

Living Dead Doll - Alice

Vogue Marge Meisinger's Alice Vintage Repro Ginny Doll

Azone's Sahra in Wonderland

Pullip Fantastic Alice (12")

Gwen Stefani "Tick Tock Gwen"

This is just a small sampling of Alice in Wonderland dolls. I've not even touched on the fantastic OOAK and artist dolls which are gorgeous and very pricey such as Maggie Iacono's "Painting the Roses Red" for $1,695.00 or R. John Wrights "Alice in Wonderland for $1,180.

Doll Reader magazine has published several issues with cover stories that depict artist dolls that are Alice themed.

There's no comparing one with the other. But...if a company decides to do Alice, one hopes that it's different from any Alice that's been done before and not just another run of the mill blond in a blue dress with a white apron.

Today our photo is of the beautiful Zita Charles by Wayne Nilson aka Wayne in FL. She is the Zita from the Stardust Convention collection known as "Hostess With The Mostest." The original dolls looked like this:

Wayne restyled her hair by removing her white streak and moving the position of one of the curls. She is wearing an Ashton Drake fashion called "Pin-Up" with shoes by Integrity.

Wayne said:

This was a very simple set up using 2 pieces of white foam-core board, one overhead spot light and a beautiful satin boudoir seat made by a fellow collector, Jay Aastrup.

I use a Canon Powershot A570 camera. I think digital photography is a godsend. You can literally take hundreds of shots before you get that 'perfect' one, all at no expense. I always use 3 or 4 spotlights to light my subject. I never use the camera flash. Because it's so hot here (most all of the time), I never take pictures outside in natural light. I always manipulate my pictures in Photoshop to correct lighting or color problems, to remove any stray hairs, sharpen the eyes, mouth and any other elements I want to stand out. I use very few, if any, props. I feel they distract from the main subject matter.

The two dolls presented on Saturday night to attendees are based on characters from Alice in Wonderland. They are being considered part of the Nu.Fantasy collection but will be outside of Japan.

The souvenir doll, "The Red Queen", uses the previously issued Fashion Royalty Tatyana face mold. Her gown is red tafffeta with black tulle and beaded embellishment on the bodice. She is called "Checkmate." LE 300.

The companion doll called "Curiouser and Curiouser" is a take off on the Alice character. She uses the Gavin Dynamite Girl sculpt.

For those of us who are used to expecting Fashion Royalty dolls, the landscape has changed. The upcoming "Dark Romance" convention is not called the Jason Wu Event/Convention; it's the Integrity Toys Convention with Jason Wu. It's interesting to watch as the company changes.

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Black Holes

When I switched photo servers a year ago, many of my images were lost in a black hole. If you are going back in time throughout my blog, you will come across these black holes. It's unfortunate but it would take me a huge amount of time to identify and republish the images. If there is a specific one you are very interested in, email me with the date of the post and I will try to get it for you.Thanks for your continued interest in my blog!Terri